Homily Appraisal

An Appraisal of the homily delivered by Fr Dion Lobo on the Feast of Infant Jesus at the Infant Jesus Shrine ground, Nashik on 13^th February, 2016.

The theme chosen for the Feast was the family. Fr Dion preached a wonderful homily on the family drawing inspiration from the Holy Family. He listed out three qualities evident in the Holy Family. I will list them below:

1.      They were people of Prayer – He stressed the importance of prayer in the family with particular emphasis on the parents as being people of prayer. He cited the example of General McArthur, Commander of the Allied Forces in WWII. In his autobiography he wrote that he wanted his children to see him as a man of prayer and not merely as a military general who went to battle for the country. Whenever he went home he would make sure he spent time in prayer alone and with his children.

I was touched by the example. How few parents strive to be people of prayer. Parents would rather let their children think of them as kind, liberal, successful, supportive and so on but hardly few would want their children to think of them as prayerful! This is a vital point and has terrific relevance for our times. Familial bonds are not as strong as they used to be in the past and one of the ways of strengthening these fraying bonds is prayer. A family can truly be a place where God resides if its individual members become people of prayer and live together in an atmosphere pervaded by prayer and love.

2. They showed Care and Concern – Mary’s statement after they found Jesus in the

Temple reveals this: “You father and I were worried about you.” To illustrate this point, Father quoted two real examples. The first is of the headmaster of the school where Father was working. One day, on his way back from mass he saw the headmaster happily cycling uphill. When asked where he was going he revealed that he was going to the hospital to see his wife who was unwell. Father was confused and asked why that should make him happy and he quickly responded saying that his wife had taken excellent care of him until then and now her sickness was an opportunity for him to serve and care for her.

The second example was of his driver. He would often accompany Father as he went around villages to celebrate Mass. Sometimes after Mass they were offered supper but the driver always refused to eat. After this behaviour recurred, Father inquired and met with a soul-stirring reply, “How can I eat when she is at home waiting for me, so that we can eat together?”

Both these incidents bring out the message very powerfully. Love is expressed through the care and concern we have for one another. The family is the first place where we ought to show and receive care and concern. If our families are to be happy and close-knit then we will have to begin by showing care and concern for each member.

3. The final point was Respect. He alluded to the respect that the members of the Holy Family had for one another. To drive the point home he borrowed Pope Francis’ 4 golden phrases for healthy families: Please, Sorry, May I and Thank you. More than being just phrases, they are attitudes and are necessary for the good health of the family. Any family which is truly happy and united has these four attitudes.

Fr Dion’s insights were down-to-earth and practical. He kept his homily short and recapped it at the end thus ensuring greater retention of what was preached. The matter may seem too simple but I’m sure it was appealing and timely. The simplicity of things also encourages practice as what was preached seems so reachable. The presentation of real life models for each of the points too, added to the drive to follow the directives. Fr Dion’s style is exemplary although his speech and demeanor is a bit off-putting.